external HDD for laptops

hi im looking for an external HDD for my laptop pref with about 60-80GB of storage and a usb 2.0 connection(i dont even know if thers another way of connecting)
i have no idea what brands are out there and if brands even matter and cost is my main consideration!!
anyone know where i can start shopping...anywhere around dublin??

challengemaster

have you considered ordering online? try www.komplett.ie shipped by an post within 3-4 working days

that looks like a good site, but im just so clueless when it comes to these sort of things i dont know if the HDD would be compatiable with my laptop??

sambora

If your laptop has USB ports and is not too old it should work without any problems. Iomega is a safe bet. As is Lacie!

You'll pick one up inexpensively online.

Duckjob

any external USB hard drive will work equally well on a laptop as it will on a desktop. once you're running XP, you just plug it in and go...

Just make sure you have USB 2.0, otherwise it will be painful...

Seagate and Western Digital both do good USB 2.0 drives.

Tom Dunne

TBH, don't get too hung up on brand names, just buy what you can afford.

Just make sure your laptop has a USB 2.0 port (most in the last 2-3 years will). I have a 160Gb external on mine and I couldn't honestly tell you what make it is.

Ruu_Old

This Western Digital Mybook will be more than enough for you, I have a couple of them. They are reasonably priced and work great, the one I linked is 250GB. Can't go wrong for 110 eurons.

Creamy Goodness

Ruu wrote:

This Western Digital Mybook will be more than enough for you, I have a couple of them. They are reasonably priced and work great, the one I linked is 250GB. Can't go wrong for 110 eurons.

not exactly portable for a laptop.

AdMMM

As already mentioned by Tom, any USB 2.0 hard drive will do. The cheapest one you can find will be more than adequete. In my experience, there's precious little between the budget drives and top of the range drives. You'll be hard pushed to find any difference!

Thats great, easier than i thought..thankx for yer help guys, and theres some really nice lookin portable ones on Iomega for cheap enough

Ruu_Old

Cremo wrote:

not exactly portable for a laptop.

How is this for portable then?

Creamy Goodness

Ruu wrote:

How is this for portable then?

because it doesn't need a huge plug to be lugged around with it

Anti

Pcworld in dublin sell freecom external hdds, They are very small and postable. Though with all pcworld products they are more expensive then what is online.

Unfourtanatly i cant see the link ruu posted. So ill post another for you

http://www.pcworld.ie/products.aspx?range_rid=44&image=Hard_Drives

As you can see, the prices are mad.

So komplett would be your best be or another online store.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/External_Drives.html

Here is a much wider range too.

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Products.ASP?CatID=56&Category=Hard+Drives+Ext&Thumbnails=yes

Ruu_Old

Cremo wrote:

because it doesn't need a huge plug to be lugged around with it

True but the OP mentioned cost was his main consideration so I mentioned the Westies as an option because they the cheapest I could find at a first glance.

Creamy Goodness

well this is what i'd go for...

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=316324
http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=323067

ethernet

The WD 'My Book' seems very popular now. Looks good too.

Didn't want to start a new thread but I'm also after using an external HDD.

I'm looking for a hard drive enclosure for an IDE drive with USB2 and Firewire connectors as well as external power supply.

Can't find one that clearly states to be compatible with both Linux and Windows.

greglo23

any usb2 external harddrive larger than 40 gigs will need a separate power supply. a firewire drive on the other hand will self power off the connection so bear that in mind when buying one.

Ruu_Old

ethernet wrote:

The WD 'My Book' seems very popular now. Looks good too.

Didn't want to start a new thread but I'm also after using an external HDD.

I'm looking for a hard drive enclosure for an IDE drive with USB2 and Firewire connectors as well as external power supply.

Can't find one that clearly states to be compatible with both Linux and Windows.

I could find one with USB2/Firewire but not compatible with Linux, located here if its any use to you. I find Galaxy Computers expensive generally so you might be able to get it cheaper elsewhere.

aFlabbyPanda

greglo23 wrote:

any usb2 external harddrive larger than 40 gigs will need a separate power supply. a firewire drive on the other hand will self power off the connection so bear that in mind when buying one.

not true. it depends on the drive (my 60GB works fine on the usb port) and it also depends on the laptop. Most 2.5" drives draw 5V but some laptops dont provide enough juice for em (my buddies dell for one).

greglo23

sorry about that. i meant to specify 3.5" harddrives but forgot. :rolleyes: